Today was my first doctor appointment since I received word that my former doctor, David Major, had died.
Not surprisingly, there was a photo of him prominently displayed in the waiting room.
I spoke about him with my current doctor, who told me about the funeral and how he was pleasantly surprised by some of the things he learned about Dr. Major there.
Dr Major had kept on working until early last year when illness forced him to retire at the age of 82. I only hope my mind is as alert as his was at that age. (Fat chance. My mind is nowhere nearly as alert now as his was.)
Here is his obituary:
David A. Major, 84, of Philadelphia, pioneering physician, former professor at Hahnemann University Hospital, mentor, and veteran, died Saturday, Sept. 9, of pancreatic cancer at his home in Center City.
The son of a doctor and grandson of a pharmacist, Dr. Major grew up in Atlantic City and practiced medicine in Philadelphia for more than five decades. He was a professor and director of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Hahnemann, and he oversaw Pennsylvania’s first federally funded physician assistant training program.
He cofounded the Ninth Street Internal Medicine practice in 1990, mentored hundreds of young doctors, and saw patients until his retirement in January 2022. “When I started to practice medicine 54 years ago, I believed that seeing and helping people with common and rare diseases would be the driving force in my career,” Dr. Major said in announcing his retirement. “I was wrong. Seeing and knowing people is what stimulated my longevity in medical practice.”
Dr. Major was devoted, he said in an online profile, to remaining on what he called “the cutting edge of the art and science of medicine.” He embraced the “medical home” model of health care in which physicians attend to a patient’s preventive care and access to social services as well as their immediate physical and mental health concerns.